Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-04-30
LIFE IN THE COUNTRY.
How tho FaFmeF's Lot May DO Made
Pleasant
SUGGESTIONS By An ExPMr.

From the Bel-Air tMd, Intellieencsr.
MI. Henry c. Halloween, OF MONTGOMERY County.
delivered an interesting and suggestive address on
Farm Lie, before the FallstOn and wilma Farmers
CLUBS last Friday night. Mr.. Halloweu spoke of
the importance Of farmers keeping detailed and
accurate accounts Of all their transactions. II q
merchant went on year after year without balanc-
ing his books his store would soon be for rent The
truth Is the farmer lives In spite OF himself When
naro umes come farmers can reduce the1rexpenses,
but the merchant must keep up certain degree
OF expense. Farmers can add to their incomes by
allowing nothing to go b waste and by attention
10 nCtle Things. For instance, an immense num-
oer OF eggs are1mported from Holland and England,
WHO" nc oagnt 70 De produced in this country.
drainage from the barn yard. II turned into els
terms. pumped out and spread over grass fields It
would wonderfully increase their productivenesa
Farm machinery should be Cleaned. oiled and nut
away when harvest is over
1t IS important for farmers to come together and
o ongntH t tor mutual benefit In Montgomery
county farmers convention Is held annually, at
Wnlcn agricultural topics are Informally discussed
Two turnpkes safety gates at railroad crossings,
horticultural society has also been Organized OF
WMch entlfe families are members. Meetings are
neld aC eacn mouse, In succession, on summer af-
ternoons. Each member takes samples Of vegeta-
pies HutS or flowers, and they are left with the
hostess Questions are asked gardens are exam.
lned ana CRITICIZED andmuch valuable information
Farmers as class are not observant and
tnoughtIul enough. The speaker remembered his
ment, that horses head is as long as Hour bar
rel ana MS neck, when erect, not long enough to
reacn tne ground. The ligaments, however,
get bis mead to the ground. There is custom in
montgomery and elsewhere OF beating a tin pan
wnen swarm Of bees are to be h1ved III the belief
INA! IL Will confuse the bees and cause them to
al1ght. This custom originated in England the
noise oelng made by the owner OF the escaped
swarm 10 SIGNIFY that the bees are his property. 1t
to hold.
Farming has advanced in every direction. It is
now fashionable to be farmer and to talk of cat
tle-of Jerseys, OF Short Horns and of Holsteins.
When Hercules undertook to strangle Antaeus
every time he threw him to the ground he arose
mother the earth; and the only way Hercules
could finish him was to hold him up above the
EARN ear WINE he strangled him. This is rich truth.
Inc nearer we get to nature the safer and happier
we are Agriculture has improved everywhere
In virginia the stores used TO be the loung1ng-
place for the best young men and cotton was said
TO be king. Great was the lamentataon when the
King was dethroned. But the fact Is that 80 per
CENT more cotton Is now raised in the South than
Wnlte LABOR was employed In raising cotton, now
% per cent OF 1t is at work producing it.
,I Farmers should do all they can to make their
surroundings tasteful and attractive. Neatness
and cleanliness will add much to the pleasure of
a nome t Ens1ghtly objects should be removed
only beautiful to the eJe but they have higher
ana better use In the way of Sanitation. Nature
mas given us sentlnelS to guard our health II we
perceive an unnatural taste or odor it is warning
OF danger. Ice-ponds are fruitful sources OF dis,
ease; IL Is mistake to suppose that water is pu-
rif1ed BY being frozen. Bacteria can be frozen in
impure water and poison the system The best
Way is to have an ice-pOnd constructed SO that ali
tne water can be drawn Off In summer and let grass
and you Will have pure Ice.
Farmers should be careful about their water SUD-
ply. he had seen places where the surface Of wells
Was honey-combed with refuse from the Kitchen.
This material trtckles down, vitiates the water
and sickness ensues.
We may talk about the beauties and entoyments
Vi country HE, Dut the statistics show us that
large number OF the insane belong TO the agricul-
tufal classes This shows that something is wrong.
Ihere Is absolute necessity for us to mlngie with
our fellows. The tendency of farmers lives Is To-
ward isolation. The husbands, fathers and
brothers do not suffer from this isolation as much
as their wives, daughters and sisters The
farmers go out and mlngie with their neighbors
Whiie the women stay at home engaged in
di , Does every farmer see that his wifes
does he say: l'll 10 a little more work. and will
Keep domestic TO help my wife?' Is he careful
TO give her that love and affection he was so glad
70 give her before marriage? Let your wife do
some OF the going abroad which rests you and
Which would DO her good. Domestic politeness is
the stronghold OF domestic happiness Brothers
are often more polite and attentive to other peo-
pies sisters than to their own. II homes were
made more happy the statistics would no longer
Insane aSylumS are farmers wives and daughters
the question OF farm labor is also Important.
their welfare and making them feel we are in
terested in them, we will have less difficulty In
getting and keeping hands,
II crops fail or prices are low the farmer has the
constant advantage OF living in nature surrounded
by the beauties Of the world, the songs OF birds
and the perfumes of flowers He sees the re-en-
actment OF creation around him all the time and
leads higher and purer existence than those
amid scenes OF mercantile and manufacturing lie